Ulysses

by Gwendolyn Elizabeth Brooks

At home we pray every morning, we
get down on our knees in a circle,
holding hands, holding Love,
and we sing hallelujah.
Then we go into the world.
Daddy speeds, to break bread with his Girl Friend.
Mommy's a Boss. And a lesbian.
(She too has a nice Girl Friend.)
my brothers and sisters and I come to school.
We bring knives pistols bottles, little boxes, and cans.
We talk to the man who's cool at the playground gate.
Nobody Sees us, nobody stops our sin.
Our teachers feed us geography.
We spit it out in a hurry.
Now we are coming home.
At home we pray in the evening
get down on our knees in a circle,
holding hands, holding Love,
And we sing hallelujah . . .